Bolognese Sauce Recipe (Instant Pot)

Rich and hearty, this Bolognese Sauce recipe made in the Instant Pot brings the flavors of an all-day simmer to your table in less than half the time. Serve Bolognese over pasta, or layer with Béchamel in lasagna.

Being of half Italian heritage, I’ve been making (and eating) Bolognese sauce for as long as I can remember. Whether it’s a classic, meaty recipe, or a lighter mushroom variation, Bolognese is a stick-to-your-ribs type of sauce that warms and comforts.

To be honest, I can be picky about dishes like Bolognese, and I was skeptical about making it in the Instant Pot. I wondered if I’d be able to come anywhere near close to the flavor (or aroma) that you get when you simmer a sauce slowly on the stove.

With a few tweaks to my family’s recipe, the sauce that emerged from the Instant Pot pleasantly surprised me. While I know that Bolognese sauce made with pressure cooking won’t always replace a slow simmer in my kitchen, the Instant Pot sauce was richand full-flavored, and ready in a fraction of the time.

Delicious Bolognese sauce in about an hour and a half? Don’t mind if I do!

What is Bolognese Sauce?

Bolognese (or Ragu alla Bolognese) is, traditionally, a slow-cooked meat sauce. Its origins are believed to be traced to the area of Bologna, Italy in the 1700s. I couch that statement with “believed,” because Bolognese sauce, its history, and what belongs in an “authentic” recipe are all topics that have been subject to debate and interpretation.

While individual ingredients vary across Bolognese recipes, the common thread between them is that the meat is the star of the show. Ragu Bolognese is not a thin, delicate sauce. It’s hearty, meaty, and only moderately “saucy”.

What are the Ingredients for a Bolognese Sauce?

Bolognese is most often made with minced and sautéed ground beef, pork, and pancetta (cured, unsmoked pork belly). Some recipes add veal, and less commonly, offal.

Most Bolognese recipes, including my family’s, start with a soffritto of carrots, celery, and onions (with or without garlic), cooked in olive oil. Many go light on the tomatoes, some only calling for a bit of tomato paste added to the browned meat. We’ve always made our Bolognese sauce with our favorite San Marzano tomatoes.

A touch of dairy is added to almost all Bolognese, either by way of milk or cream. To be clear, though, this is not a creamy, dairy-heavy sauce. The splash of dairy serves to soften the acidity of the wine and tomatoes.

Adapting Our Bolognese Sauce Recipe For the Instant Pot

After sautéing the soffritto and meats, classic Bolognese is simmered for 3-4 hours. Using the pressure cooker setting on the Instant Pot after the sauté, the sauce cooks for only 20 minutes on high pressure. This shortened cook time also necessitates a smaller overall quantity of liquid in the recipe.

In adapting my family’s Bolognese sauce recipe for pressure cooking, I made a few ingredient adjustments to make sure that the sauce would still have a rich flavor without a slow simmer.

White wine is most commonly used to deglaze the pan after browning the vegetables and meats. Here, I decided to go with a dry red wine to give the sauce an extra depth of flavor that pressure cooked foods can sometimes lack.

I also added a bit of tomato paste in addition to the San Marzano tomatoes. I don’t find that I need the rich flavor of tomato paste with a classic preparation, as the crushed tomatoes concentrate so beautifully on their own over 3 hours.

To make the best bolognese recipe in the Instant pot, the deep tomato flavor of the paste helped to give the sauce that all-day-cooked taste.

How to Use Bolognese Sauce

Since it’s a hearty sauce, Bolognese is best served with a pasta that can stand up to its weight. Tagliatelle (pictured) is the classic pairing, as are wide pappardelle noodles. I’ve also served Ragu Bolognese with penne, campanelle, bucatini, and gnocchi. Very thin pastas, like angel hair, aren’t the best choice here.

You can also use this sauce to make an incredible Lasagna Bolognese. Typically prepared without ricotta cheese, the dish is composed of layers of pasta, Bolognese, and creamy Béchamel. It is, hands down, my favorite type of lasagna.

Watching your carbs? This Bolognese sauce recipe is also delicious served with spaghetti squash.

Recipe Video: Watch How to Make Instant Pot Bolognese

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Bolognese Sauce Recipe (Instant Pot)

This rich meat sauce with beef, pork, and pancetta is perfect for serving with your favorite pasta. Choose a hearty cut that will stand up to the weight of the sauce, and don't forget the freshly-grated cheese on top!

Stir in heavy cream and remaining 1/4 cup chopped parsley. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve over cooked pasta with plenty of freshly-grated cheese and a sprinkling of parsley, if desired.

Recipe Notes

Make ahead: Bolognese sauce can be stored in airtight containers for 3-4 days in the refrigerator, or 3-4 months in the freezer.

Have you made this recipe? Let me know by leaving a comment and rating the recipe below! Don’t forget to take a picture and tag @stripedspatula and #stripedspatula on Instagram for a chance to be featured in my newsletter!

Reader Interactions

Comments

I love this! What an amazing use for an Instant Pot- it cuts HOURS off the traditional recipe! I was just listening to a recent episode of the Bon Appetit podcast about making bolognese for lasagna- and I just thought I’d never do it the long way lol. I’d love to know if the mushroom version turns out well!

I’d be a little skeptical about it being as good in the Instant Pot, too, but thank you for doing the QC work for everyone! This looks absolutely incredible – I’d love a bowl (or three!) of this cozy meal!

You are making me want to buy an instant pot with your bolognese sauce. I make a similar sauce with the red wine and heavy cream but never thought of adding pancetta, what a great idea, I’ll try your way next time!

I’ve never made bolognese sauce before, but I sure love to eat it. And I’m totally with you…those dishes you’ve grown up eating and making, it’s hard to try making it in any type of shortcut version! But it sure looks like you’ve done it, and well, in your Instant Pot

I love all your explanations of why you used some of the ingredients in the pressure cooker version. Red wine vs white. Tomato paste vs no paste. It’s amazing to see such care and science that go in the development of a recipe. Too often now I see blog posts with ingredients haphazardly thrown together without any thought. I did not make this recipe just yet but it inspired me to create a meat sauce last week also. I would have used your recipe but I simply didn’t have some of the ingredients so I used your technique for my IP meat sauce.

This sounds so delicious – as always, your photos make me want to dive in head first! Bolognese is one of my husband’s very favorites, and I’ve tweaked an Ina Garten technique to make it do-able on a weeknight, but it would be even faster following these IP instructions! Saving this one for sure to make once I get my IP this summer!

I like your adaptations to add depth of flavor to the quick cooking recipe. Oddly, I’ve never made a proper Bolognese sauce, though I’ve made all kinds of meaty pasta sauces – really need to fix that, and try a classic!

This is both hearty and delicious. I got an Instant Pot for Christmas and I must admit, I have only used it 2 times. I’m still a little intimidated by it but how quick and easily this sauce comes together, with using the IP, has me thinking it’s going on my menu this week! I love the red wine to add that extra depth of flavor too and it’s great for drinking alongside as well! ;)

Girl, you have managed to make bolognese look gorgeous in these photos! Some things are so hard to photograph, but this is gorgeous and I want to dive right in. I definitely need to check your mushroom variation out. I know some folks use lentils to vegify the dish, but I like the sound of mushrooms a lot more.

Oh WOW I need to try this. There is nothing better than homemade bolognese sauce, but I have yet to master on in the instant pot. Instead my sauce making days are reserved for the weekends when I know I have 3 plus hours to babysit something on the stove-top. Cannot wait to try this out. And those photos???? Just fantastic!